Daanish Faruqi

Major: Islamic StudiesDegree: M.A.School: Washington University in St. LouisSponsor: Muslim Community Association of the Bay Area (MCA)

A child of immigrants from Pakistan, Daanish Faruqi was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from Rutgers University with majors in Political Science, Sociology, Economics, and Criminal Justice, and with a minor in Religions. Following graduation he spent nearly two years in the Middle East as a human rights researcher for an Egyptian development thinktank, and as an independent op-ed columnist covering human rights issues in the Arab world. He is currently completing his M.A. in Islamic Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, where he focuses on pre-modern Islamic intellectual history, Islamic political thought, and the history of Sufism. Insha’Allah he plans to subsequently pursue doctoral work in intellectual history, comparatively situating modern Islamic intellectual history in conversation with Western thought, more specifically that of the European Enlightenment

Daanish’s Message to Supporters:
Successful immigrant and minority communities in the United States long ago realized the need to establish strong institutions as a necessary first step to gaining prominence in America. Insha’Allah the ISF scholarship program will be a significant step toward building a vibrant Muslim-American institutional presence, and toward cultivating a new generation of Muslim-American leaders. Jazak Allahu khair for this wonderful opportunity.

Update:
Daanish is a Ph.D student at Duke University and Studies Transnational Histories of Islamic Political Thought